Research Interests:
Dr. Cutbirth is primarily interested in public persuasive discourse, or rhetoric. He has ongoing interests in four content areas: the cold war, political communication, the Internet, and religious communication. Dr. Cutbirth's interest in the cold war traces post-World War 11 perceptions of the Soviet Union in addition to looking at various episodes when the cold war "heated up."

His interests in political communication embrace both the effects of the Internet as well as the effects of right-wing religious leaders, such as Jerry Falwell and Jimmy Swaggart on the political process. Regarding theory and methods, Dr. Cutbirth is essentially a symbolic interactionist concerned with discourse as a means of creating and shaping reality. He enjoys the study of argument, but when cornered identifies himself as a dramatist.

Teaching Interests:
Dr. Cutbirth has taught the Persuasion seminar, which studied fear appeals, the Rhetorical Theory seminar which studied Kenneth Burke, and the Communication Theory seminar which studied fear and the creation of enemies in public discourse. He has also taught a seminar about the Cold War as a rhetorical product. He also teaches the 300-level Controversy and Contemporary Society course as a study of the Religious Right. Dr. Cutbirth dearly loves classical rhetorical theory as a place to start studying communication.